STE AM IN SCHOOLS

by Atlanta Parent Staff

“Why is the sky blue?”

“How does the car work?”

“Why is 4x3 the same as 3x4?”

If your kid is constantly asking questions like these, take a deep breath, and answer as many as you can. For the ones you feel ill-equipped to answers, do some research together and figure it out. Why?

“Because kids are ‘natural scientists,’ they are curious about the world and how things work,” said Evangeline Ricks Agbogu, the Director of Science Akadémeia, a science preschool offering a full-day, year-round program for children ages 2-6. “And, most importantly, 90% of a child’s brain is developing from 0-5 years old. Parents should be the facilitator as children explore their environment, eliciting responses from them by asking openended questions.”

It’s not just at home or preschool where asking questions and problem solving should be the focus. Elementary, middle and high schools play a huge role in this endeavor, which is typically addressed as STEAM education. Not only does STEAM relate to students’ natural tendencies and the world around us, but it also prepares them for the future as many of the top careers of today and tomorrow are STEAM-related.

l Hands-On Learning

At STEM-Certified Amana Academy, a charter school, students in Kindergarten through 8th grade work through case studies to apply STEAM concepts. “Students come up with the products to address the problems they’re trying to solve in the case studies,” said Yerisson Cardenas, the STEM Director. “Regardless of the subject, we also try to have teachers incorporate STEM in classes. In general, STEM allows students to have more of a handson approach to solving problems.”

Embracing a hands-on and engaging approach to science is integral to learning at The Walker School in Marietta. “Whether it’s our Lower School students cracking open and classifying geodes on the playground as a culmination of learning about rocks and minerals, Middle School students baking bread and making cheese to demonstrate their understanding of fermentation or Upper School students sequencing environmental bacteria to improve public health, it is vital to us that learners experience the spark of joyful discovery that deepens into an appreciation and understanding of the interconnected and fascinating natural world around us,” said Emily Adams, the Science Department Chair and Innovative Teaching Chair.

At Clark Creek Elementary STEM Academy, the first school in Cherokee County to receive AdvancEd STEM certification, the Engineering Design Process is central to students learning. The steps of ask, investigate, imagine, plan, create, experiment, improve and present are embedded into the school’s curriculum. “Within each component, students learn a specific skill set as they explore content, and work through social issues or personal situations,” said Principal Joey Moss. “Our students are empowered to use this tool, this way of thinking, for everything they do.”

l Real-World Applications

The concepts found within STEAM can help students develop their critical thinking, communication and problem-solving skills, which they can use in everyday life.

“STEAM education is important for multiple reasons,” said Angie Wood, the Magnet Coordinator at Kennesaw Mountain High School’s Academy of Mathematics, Science, and Technology. “It allows students to apply their content learning to real-world applications. This application provides meaning to learning or helps to answer, ‘When will we ever use this?’ But most importantly, it provides skills applicable to jobs that don’t yet exist, giving students the flexibility to follow their career interests as they develop throughout their lifetime.”

Cont’d on next page mtparanschool.com/steam